07 May 2011

[new] Koreless- 4D//MTI


The amount of young musicians starting to tackle the music scene has really begun to impress me. The Weeknd, James Blake, Nicolas Jaar, and Tyler the Creator, to name a few, have created music that has created immense buzz in the music industry all before the age of twenty-three!

Meet nineteen year old Lewis Roberts. He is a producer who performs and creates under the moniker "Koreless." He lives in Glasgow, and just recently released a two song EP that is simply a must listen. I guess I would classify his sounds as "post-dubstep" (what ever that means) along side James Blake and Mount Kimbie. Needless to say, the kid has serious talent. Check out the two tracks below, and share them with your friends. I am sure we will see much more of this guy in the near future.

4D


MTI


Lots of love,
Aaron

XXX

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06 May 2011

[preview] Brett Dennen @ the Republic


This Sunday night, following the conclusion of yet another New Orelans jazzfest, Brett Dennen will perform a show at the Republic in the CBD, hosted by Winter Circle Productions. This show is part of Dennen's tour to support his fourth studio album, Loverboy, which was released last month. The evening will begin with a set by local act MyNameisJohnMichael.

Presale $18, Door $25. For more info and tickets, visit the Republic's website.

Brett Dennen-Sydney (I'll Come Running) by Dualtone

05 May 2011

[preview] Thievery Corporation @ The Sugar Mill

Rest up for Saturday evening, because New Orleans is truly in for something special. Thievery Corporation is in town to play a live set at The Sugar Mill. I've never been to The Sugar Mill, as it seems like concert events there are rare, but from their website I can tell the venue is massive. And its got a big courtyard. Beyond that, I got nothing for you. I can tell you this though: Thievery Corporation is not to be missed.

Beginning as a production duo, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton expanded their sound by inviting a large array of musicians and singers to accompany them on stage. Large percussion set ups, sitars, and many guests vocalists make every show a truly remarkable experience. The sound is reminiscent of world music (specifically Middle Eastern) with an electronic/jammy twist. When the act tours, they generally don't play too many shows, so this is a unique opportunity to jump on. I feel like most of our readers have heard of Thievery Corporation already, but if you haven't, I have added a track below.




Opening for Thievery are The Hot 8 Brass Band and Toubab Krewe. Hot 8 needs no further explanation for those of us living in New Orleans. There are a bunch of guys with horns playing brass music. Toubab Krewe on the other hand, is certainly worth talking about. Their sound is reminiscent of African music, specifically that of Mali. On stage they not only play traditional instruments, but a kora (21-string harp-lute), kamelengoni (12-string harp-lute), soku (Malian horsehair fiddle), and African percussion. The jammy beats are unique and sure to bring the energy to an all time high before Thievery takes the stage. Be sure to give the Toubab video below a quick watch.





To purchase tickets click here.

Hope to see everyone on the dance floor!
Lots of love,
Aaron

XXX

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Thom Yorke back-to-back FlyLo

Last night, May 4th, Thom Yorke made his second secret appearance at LA's Low End Theory Club. This time he went back to back with Flying Lotus. Those in attendance really saw something special. The sound on this video is just okay, but its the best I could find. Check it!

04 May 2011

tyler the creator - yonkers



PS - goblin leaked

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Prince Rama and metaphysical yoga

Prince Rama's sister duo Taraka and Nimai Larson are already mesmerizing enough as it is. These Brooklyn beauties are extremely talented, and watching a live performance is like witnessing an elaborate tribal ritual, complete with festive attire and glittery glam. I constantly find myself getting lost in the layers of sound I hear resonating from their album. This entrancing little snippet is just a taste of the soon the be released VHS(with cassette included) entitled "15 Minute Exercise", out on Impose. The girls guide you along a motivational workout to soft drum driven music complete with verbal instructions, while bursts of images such as vacant deserts and elaborate colors smear across the screen. Grainy goodness and superimposed glitchy backdrops make this throwback style rather spectacular. Available for pre-order now, with a new album completed and expected to drop in the very near future.


[interview] Smith Westerns

Within the first couple weeks of this year, Chicago youngsters Smith Westerns put out what is sure to be considered one of the best albums of 2011. Dye It Blonde perfectly exemplifies that bridge between the late teenage years and the early twenties with its jangly guitar glam rock.

Tomorrow, Thursday the 5th, the band will be playing a JazzFest after show at One Eyed Jacks with Bass Drum of Death and Brass Bed. Doors are at 8. Art/Official spoke with Smith Westerns’ co-founding member and guitarist Max Kakacek about the band’s recording process, being on tour with Wilco, and what they think of New Orleans.


art/official: How did you guys first get together?
Max Kakacek: We were just childhood friends. I met Cameron (bassist) and Cullen (guitarist) in high school, and we started playing music together.

a/o: For someone who has never heard your music before, can you give a firsthand description of it?
MK: What we try to do is make really catchy guitar pop that’s a little more complex than just straight up pop music, but at the same time keep the listener reeled in. We take ideas from all kinds of guitar bands that have existed over the past 30 years or so like any classic rock from the 70’s like David Bowie, southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd even, 90’s bands like Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Teenage Fanclub, and combining them into our own thing.

a/o: What was the inspiration for the title of your most recent album, Dye It Blonde?
MK: It comes from the last song off the album. Cullen had a lyric for it, and we all thought it sounded really good. It was short, sweet, and classic.

a/o: It seems like everyone received that album extremely well. Do you guys feel more successful after having released it?
MK: I think we all feel pretty good, but I don’t think there’s any kind of complacency. We’re just motivated to do more.

a/o: How was its recording and writing process different from that of your self-titled debut that came out in 2009?
MK: The writing process was similar. Cullen and I pretty much write all the songs half and half, and record them on to our computers to make demos of parts of songs and then combine them later on. The recording process for the second one was different. We had a much bigger budget to work with so we got to go into the studio with a producer. We really lucked out with Chris Coady (TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Grizzly Bear, Beach House, Massive Attack) who helped with lots of sounds on the record. This is compared to the first record where we just did it in my basement with a tape recorder and a 4-track.

a/o: Do you think any kind of collaboration could come out of your tour with Wilco?
MK: We’re just about to meet up with them. It’d be pretty cool — two Chicago bands working together. I have no idea, though. I’m really looking forward to just sharing a bill with them, and am really flattered they liked us enough to take us on tour with them. I hope we can develop some sort of mutual respect where we can talk to each other and hang out a little bit.

a/o: What’s been your experience with playing shows in New Orleans in the past?
MK: We played one other show there a while ago with Magic Kids and Girls. It was really cool. We had a couple days to stay in New Orleans. We drank lots of hurricanes [laughs].

a/o: What are your next steps and future plans?
MK: After this tour, we’re going on another tour with Yeasayer for about three weeks. We’re playing some festivals, and then we have time off in the summer.

Watch the video for "Weekend," Dye It Blonde's awesome lead single:



Watch a mini-documentary on the band:


Article and Interview Composed and Conducted by: Connor Crawford

03 May 2011

[show review] Man Man @ One Eyed Jacks

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The weirdos and freaks were out in droves on Monday night, which could only mean a lot of things, but this time it meant Man Man was making their triumphant return to the city. Though One Eyed Jack’s seemed a bit empty at first, the floor quickly filled as openers Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers took the stage and pounded the crowd with their pump-organ driven, moan-and-scream heavy hard rock. When they finished, the stage was ready to be set for what could I whimsically described as “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse on mushrooms.” The stage itself was decorated with glowing lights, a TV, a starry backdrop, and half of a bicycle, which nobody could figure out why the hell it was there.



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With a new record in hand, I wasn’t sure what Man Man were going to bring to the table. The last time I had seen them was at Rothbury in 2009, where they played a pretty even mix of songs from their three records, with the focus being on Rabbit Habits and Six Demon Bag. I knew I was not about to be disappointed when the band took the stage and jumped into the latter’s opener, “Feathers.” The first new track of the night, “Piranhas Club” embodied the band’s more doo-wop sound, and got the crowd moving early. Standard live cuts like “Mr. Jung Stuffed,” “Hurly Burly,” and “Top Drawer” kept the crowd alive between new cuts that, while totally awesome, were sometimes lost on an audience largely hearing them for the first time. For those like myself, who are waiting anxiously for Life Fantastic, the prospect of hearing new tunes was well met, and the band dropped 8 throughout their set.

Where Man Man truly shined, however, was their choice of deeper cuts from their old records. The last time I had seen them, I was blown away when they played songs like “I, Manface” and “Push the Eagle’s Stomach,” but this time they went even further with cuts like “Spider Cider,” “White Rice, Brown Heart,” and the often overlooked gem “Sarsaparilla,” which finally showed us what that fucking bike was for. Not to mention that when they played “Engrish Bwudd,” I’ve never heard so many people scream “get the fuck outta MY house!” so loud in my life. Except for my dad that time I did that one thing.



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Needless to say, this show was awesome. Though the heavy focus on new tracks may have rubbed some the wrong way, and some people there were just not down to party (who the fuck tells people to “calm down” at a show? I mean seriously), Man Man gave a hell of a performance. Anybody who didn’t make it missed out on a great concert and should make a point to see this band as soon as possible.

Setlist:
Feathers, Hurly/Burly, Piranhas Club, Mr. Jung Stuffed, Top Drawer, Dark Arts, Haute Tropic, 10 lb. Mustache, Easy Eats of Dr. Galapagos, Doo Right, Bangkok Necktie, Shameless, Sarsaparilla, White Rice Brown Heart. ENCORE: Life Fantastic, Engrish Bwudd, Futurismo (non-album cut?), Spider Cider, Oh La Brea, Van Helsing Boombox



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Check out the stream of the entire new album Life Fantastic by clicking here!


- Article written by Jason Kutno
- All photographs by Joshua Brasted



For more pictures from the show,
check out Joshua's Flickr.

[review] Crystal Castles @ CAC

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If you’re reading this article, or even this blog for that matter, you probably already know most of what there is to know about Crystal Castles. Having said that, I’m going keep this one pretty short and let the pictures do most of the talking. I will, however, sum it up by saying that anything positive you’ve ever heard about a live Crystal Castles show is probably true.



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The entire experience is absolutely incredible; from the blinding lights, to the deafening bass, to the chaotic and completely crazy Alice Glass screaming her pretty little lungs out and jumping into the crowd for a quick epileptic seizure.



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There’s an obvious reason why this duo has one of the most talked about and sought after live shows in the independent music world. If you have the chance to see one, do yourself a favor, AND DON’T MISS IT.

Postscripts seem to be the trend today, so nice the Cure shirt, Alice.



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- Article written and composed by Justen Cheney
- All photos by Joshua Brasted
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For more pictures from the show,
check out Joshua's Flickr.

wolfram (feat. holy ghost)

cover

last weekend, aaron and i had the opportunity to see holy ghost (a band we were previously pretty unfamiliar with) open for australian stars cut copy at the republic - we fell in love. if there's another thing we share a mutual appreciation for, it's modern disco, and this track, entitled "hold my breath," encompasses both. enjoy!

[new] Woodkid- "Iron"


Yoann Lemoine is a multi-talented artist sure to create some buzz this year. He paints, draws, shoots photography and film, and now has begun to dabble in music. Over the years he has won loads of awards for his films, and a quick look through the photos on his website scream talent.

Lemoine has a very real "do-it-yourself" feel to his work. The emotion he pours into his films, he is now working to communicate through music under the name "Woodkid." His first EP is set to come out this year, and if his first single "Iron" says anything, I am sure it will be incredible. Below see the video for the track. As you may have guessed, he directed and shot the film himself.

Often I meet people who are great singer/songwriters. I meet those who are graphic designers, sculptors, painters, etc. Although to discover an artist who can express himself in any medium, to me, is something very special. The video for the track is stunning. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


Woodkid - Iron from WOODKID on Vimeo.



Lots of love,
Aaron

XXX

Note: Be sure to check out the video section of his website. He has directed music vidoes for Moby, Yelle, Taylor Swift and more. Wild!

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[review] Sleigh Bells/CSS

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The following is yet another installment of insufficient and shoddy journalism fated to suffer at the hands of what seems to be a never-ending semester. Despite an arduous week of final portfolios, papers, and exams, I’ve managed to make it out to several excellent shows once again.
A week ago from today, against the will of my better judgment, I crammed into a compact car with four other students and traveled up to Baton Rouge to catch CSS and Sleigh Bells perform at the Varsity Theatre.
After the stoned and starry eyed opener, whose name I have yet to learn, finished a short set, CSS donned the stage in immaculate numbers. The great and over arching contrast of CSS as an opener for Sleigh Bells is that there really are so many people playing instruments on stage that you can’t even count them (while Sleigh Bells is made up of Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss alone).



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Before long, a friend of mine was dancing on a speaker box with CSS front woman LoveFoxxx, and the sold out crowd was bumpin’ and grindin’ in a sparkling bath of glitter. As if the shocking fact that a Sleigh Bells show had sold out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana wasn’t enough to make me believe that Bin Laden is dead (oh, wait) LoveFoxxx’s confession that a crowd of LSU has been the best on their tour thus far is.
Highlights of CSS’s sleazy dance party came (of course) with their provocative ode to Death From Above 1979, “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above,” and before they could even finish their set, I had never been so glad in my life to completely ignore all of my responsibilities.
Shortly after the clearance of CSS’s monstrosity of a setup from the stage, Sleigh Bells appeared to open with the main theme of “Iron Man,” that was loud enough to blow out some knees.
For those of you out there that have never seen this act live, allow me to share the most valuable lesson I have learned from this show: modern day stadium rock stars truly do exist, and every once in a while a band finds a sound that is actually worth sticking to. This is it if I’ve ever seen it (or heard it) folks – Derek Miller has a wall of 4 Marshall stacks, for Christ’s sake, and that’s one of the coolest things I can personally imagine.



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Another excellent aspect of this band is their inability to bore you in between songs. With minimal breaks, Sleigh Bells sends the message loud and clear that they have come to do one thing, and one thing only: to melt your precious face with deafening rock n’ roll music.
Overall, the set was short, concise, and to the point, and while many people allowed this to become the source of their criticisms, I walked away happy, having heard every track I longed for (“Infinity Guitars,” “Run the Heart,” and “Rill Rill”).
The night ended with an almost sexual encounter with LoveFoxxx (flattering nonetheless), broken noses, and whiskey on the Indian mounds at LSU. We even made it back in time for class the next morning.

Post Script: Alexis Krauss is sooooooo hot.



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"Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" by CSS







"Infinity Guitars" by Sleigh Bells







"Rill Rill" by Sleigh Bells



- Article written and composed by Justen Cheney
- All photos by Joshua Brasted except Sleigh Bells playlist photo
- Sleigh Bells playlist photo by Chelsea Norris



For more pictures from the show,
check out Joshua's Flickr.

02 May 2011

[new] washed out - eyes be closed

Washed-Out-Eyes-Be-Closed-490x489

so the past week has been pretty crazy as a student (sorry for the lack of posts). needless to say, i've never been ready for the summer so much in my entire life, and this track doesn't help that sentiment. georgia native ernest greene has been killing it for the past few years and "eyes be closed" is certainly a testament to that. get ready for the summer folks, greene's debut (that's right DEBUT) album drops july 12 via his shiny new record deal with the indie icon known as sub pop. this one's a winner.

Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed by gulsah turgut

[check out] And the Giraffe

These tracks by Nashville via Gainesville, FL duo found their way into our inbox over the weekend. And the Giraffe is Nick Roberts and Josh Morris, and together they create great ambient dream folk. It brings to mind a calm combination of Akron/Family and The Postal Service. They're currently at work on their debut album Something for Someone, but in the meantime stream and download two songs from their first 7" The Magical Masquerade. We look forward to seeing what these guys do in the upcoming months.